Can registering means



May 4, .1937; G. A. BARDET El" AL 2,078,923

CAN REGISTERING MEANS s Sheets sheet 1 Filed May 1'7, 1955 gVVENTOR.5026.5 fl. men/5r 6150,4265 M. 862057 v (6% ATTORNEYS.

y 1937- G. A. BARDET ET AL 2,078,923

CAN REGISTERING MEANS Filed May 1'7, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ail/yaPatented May 4, 1937 I UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE CAN REGISTERING MEANSGeorge A. Bardet and George V. Bardet, Berkeley, Calif., assignors to M.J. B. Company, a corporation of Delaware Application May 17, 1935,Serial No. 22,042

5 Claims.

plies to machines of that type designed for applying paper strip labelsto cylindrical cans, and wherein the cans to be labeled are rolled insuccession along a receiving guideway, passing across a supply stack oflabels to cause each can, in passing, to pick up the upper label fromthe stack and wrap it about the can incident to its continued travelalong the guideway.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a canregistering means whereby a designated part of a can may be accuratelypositioned with reference to its location in the guideway or withreference to some other object or device used in connection with thecan.

More specifically stated, the object of the invention is to provide canregistering means that is applicable to the commonly used types oflabeling machines as above described, whereby each can, in itspromiscuous delivery into the machine, will momentarily be stopped inthe guideway prior to reaching the label stack, and there will bemechanically positioned to insure that a designated portion of the canwill, upon subsequent travel of the can across the label stack, comeaccurately into registration with a designated portion of the label.

Heretofore, it has not been customary, or at least it has not beenconsidered desirable, to apply paper strip labels to tearing strip cans.It has been the general practice for this type of can, to lithograph thebody blanks prior to making them into bodies, and'to thus eleminate thenecessity or desirability of applying paper labels. Generally when paperlabels have been applied to tearing strip cans, they have been sopositioned that they did not overlap the tearing strip since it is quiteapparent that, should the tearing strip tongue be covered up by thelabel, it would be required, for an application of a key thereto, thatthe location of the tongue first be determined, then a part of the labeltorn away to expose the tongue. Should the label be made sufiicientlyshort that it did not extend over the tearing strip, the uncoveredportion of the can body should be lithographed; otherwise, it presentsan unattractive appearance. To our knowledge, no attempt has been madeheretofore to cover the entire body wall of a can with a label having arecess through which the tearing strip tongue is exposed to view.

The present invention contemplates the application of paper strip labelsto tearing strip cans which will cover the can between its ends andwhich will extend across the tearing strip, and which are provided withnotches or cut cuts 5 at one edge for exposing the tearing strip tongueof each can to view. Therefore, the object of the invention, broadlystated, is to provide an attachment means for standard, or other typesof labeling machines, whereby each can, after l0v entering a machine,will be accurately registered for exposingits tearing strip tonguewithin the i notch of the label which is applied thereto.

More specifically stated, the present invention resides in the provisionof an attachment means 15 for labeling machines, including a stop memberin the receiving guideway by which each can is momentarily stopped inits forward travel, While rotation thereof is continued, and alsoincluding a switch lever positioned to engage with any natural orartificial projection on the body of the rotated can, thereby to actuatethe switch to close an electric circuit through means whereby thestopped can is instantly released for continued travel, with the tearingstrip tongue accurately located for registration within the notch of thelabel which the can picks up in its passage over the label stack.

Other objects of the invention reside in the details of construction, inthe combination of 30 parts, and in the mode of operation, whereby thevarious objects of the invention are attained.

In accomplishing these, and other objects, We have provided the improveddetails of construction, the preferred forms of which are illustrated 35in the accompanying drawings wherein- Fig. 1 is a plan, or top, view ofa labeling machine to which the present invention has been applied.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section in a vertical plane of the machine asseen on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan of the attachment device.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the mechanism as seen on line 4--4 inFig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a similar sectional view, illustrating the position of the canspacing and stop mechanism in normal position and showing the switchlever in circuit closing position.

Fig. 6 is another similar sectional view, illustrating the releaseoperation of the can spacing stop member.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view, illustrating the 10- 2 cation of a tearingstrip tongue within the notch of a label applied to a can body.

Referring more in detail to the drawingsl designates a horizontal runwayalong which the cylindrical cans 2 are caused to be rolled by contactwith the lower run of a can delivery belt 3, operating parallel with theguideway about belt wheels 4 and 5; the wheel 4 being supported on across shaft 6 that is revoluble in supporting bearings l'i fixed to theguideway, and the wheel 5 being fixed on a cross shaft 9 that issupported at its ends in bearings Ill-l0 also fixed to the guideway.

The belt 3 and the wheel 5 are located centrally above the guideway, asobserved by reference to Fig. 1, and at opposite sides of the wheel 5are paired belt wheels li-l I, fixed on the shaft 9, and about whichbelts l2-l2 extend; the latter belts having their lower runs parallelwith the runway and adapted to continue the advancement of the cansalong the runway as delivered thereto by the belt 3, and to advancethem,=under positive controlacross the glue applying rolls, and .thelabel stack, which will now be described.

As observed in Fig.2, a'glue pot, l-3 issupporte'd directly beneath theguideway I. .This .potcon- 'tains revolubly driven .glue applyingrollers 14 fixed on a cross shaftjl5 that is rotated ,in any suitablemanner such as :by means of the belt 16 operating over pulleys ll and;|8.fixed, respectively, on shafts 5 and a shaft l9 which,,in .turn, is.operatively connected by-gearing IQa, :with shaft 15, as seen inFig. 1. The glue applying rollers 14 are so disposed that the cansdeliveredby the belts l2 along the guideway will contact therewith foranapplication of glue-to the can body at inter- .vals along a line fromend to .end.

Located at a specifieddistance from the glue rolls l4 and below therunway is a support .,20 upon which a stack of paperstrip labels 2| isplaced. Each label in this instancehas a notch or recess .2la at oneedge within which the tearing strip tongue of the can to .which thelabel is applied, will register. The labels are disposed lengthwise ofthe runway, and thestack is fed upwardly as the labels are usedbysuitablemeans, which is not herein illustrated. The upward travel ofthe stack is limitedby means1of a narrow in-turned flange =24-overlyingthe stack atits forward edge and a transverse belt 25 which overlaps itat its opposite edge. This latter belt is continuous and isextendedabout belt wheels .ZBa-nd 21; the latter of which is located ina paste container .28 from which a suitable paste is transferred to thebelt for subsequent application to the ends of the labels with which itcontacts.

It is to be understood that in the present arrangement, the cans, inpassing over the glue rollers I4, have a small amount of glue appliedthereto, and that the label stack is so spaced from the rollers thatafter the canhasmade at least one complete revolution in its travelalong the guideway, the glued areas of the can comeinto contact with theforward end of the upper label of the stack, and the end of the labeladheres thereto, then as the can continues to .roll along the guideway,the labelis thereby caused to -.-be wrapped about the can, and theoppositerendof the label .to which paste has been. applied by belt 25 iscaused to overlap and adhereto the first attached end of the label, thussecuring it about the can body.

Since the present invention contemplates' the labeling of tearing stripcans by means of labels which have an edge notch formed therein forexposing the tearing strip tongues, the position of the can in itsdelivery across the label stack must therefore be accurately determinedprior to the cans reaching the label. In carying out the objects of theinvention, a mechanism has been pro vided for temporarily stopping eachof the cans as it is rolled along the guideway by the delivery belt 8but permitting a continued rotation of the can under action of the beltto bring the tongue to a definite position, following which, the can is.released for continued travel along the guideway.

This tongue registering means is illustrated particularly in Figs. 3 to6 wherein designates a cross rod normally supported in the path of the.cans-as'delivered under control of the belt 3. This cross rod is to.successively stop the forward travel of the cans, and it is supported atits opposite endsby arms 3l-3l, which, in turn, are fixed on acrossshaft 32 located transversely of, and just beneath the guideway onwhich the cans travel, and is revoluble at its ends in spaced supporting:plates mounted 'on the frame structure.

When a can is stopped 'in its advancement by cross :ro'd.30, itcontinues to :revolveiby reasonof its contact with belt 3, :and while itrevolves, it is supported at: its opposite ends upon rollers 34-44crevolublezon :parallel cross rods 35-35 that extend'between the plates.33-33. A roller 36 directly overlies the :belt 3rabove the stopped canand holds the latter .seatedon the rollers while it revolves.

The means .for supportingathe cross rod 30 in position to arrest a canduring its registration period :comprises a lever armi38 that is fixedon the .shaft .32, and which extends downwardly into abutment withthe-:end of a stop lever 39 the latter being disposed :horizontally andpivotally mountedat its end, opposite that which engages the arm 38, ona cross shaft 40, and is yieldingly held in araised, functional positionby a spring 41, which is wound on'the shaft adjacent the arm and :hasits ends fixed, respectively, -to the arm and shaft, as seen in Fig. 3.A coiled spring 43 is attached at one end to the lower end of a pin44;;fixed in the shaftL32 at its other end to a pin 45 fixed in a plate:33, in such manner as to draw the stop :rod .30 back to its raisedposition after each time it is depressed,asillustrated in dotted linesinFig. 5, .by the passage of a can thereover.

7 Release -of..the stop lever 39 is incident to the I energization of asolenoid 46 supported below the free :end of the lever and adapted, whenenergized, todraw that end of the stop lever 39 downwardly against thecore of the solenoid,.as in Fig.

5, thus to free the armi38 and permit the stop bar to be depressed bythe-action of the can for the passing-of the can .thereover.

The solenoid 46 is connected electrically with a :source of electricity4'! by circuit wires '48 at one .side and a wire 49 and control switchat the other side. The :control switch comprises two spring metalcontact strips 52 and 5'3; with'ends mounted on an insulating block 54,and com nected, respectively, to the one pole of the solenoid and to thewire 49, with their other ends normally disengaged but adapted to bepressed together to close the circuit through the solenoid.

Rotation of the can is for the purpose of bringing a certain partthereof into a definite position relative to some other mechanism -or toits position on the guideway. Then the can is released for advancement.

- In order that the solenoid may be-energized at exactly the proper timefor release of the can, a switch lever 55 is pivotally mounted betweenthe rollers 34 -34 supporting one end of the can. This lever has a shortend portion a disposed in a position terminating close to the can bodywall, and it also has a relatively long opposite end portion 55bterminating adjacent the contact 52. The arrangement of the lever issuch that, incident to rotation of the can, the seam bulge, designatedat 58, on the double seam of the can body, will contact the lever end55a, thereby to actuate the lever, as in Fig. 5, to a position that itslower end presses the contact 52 against the contact 53, thereby tomomentarily close the solenoid circuit to energize the solenoid tomagnetically draw the stop lever 39 downwardly to release the arm 38 andincidentally permit the advancement of the registered can along theguideway. Coincident with the release of the can, the solenoid circuitis opened and the lever 39 is moved back to raised position by spring4|. Then, as the can passes over the stop bar 30, the latter will beswung back to raised position by spring 43 and the arm 38 will againlook back of the lever 39. During the registration period of any canstopped by the cross bar 30, the next oncoming can is held back in theguideway at a distance spaced from the can being registered, by means ofa cross rod disposed transversely of the path of delivery and supportedat its ends by arms 6|--6| fixed on a cross shaft 62 that is revolublymounted at its ends in the frames 33-33. The shaft 62 has a dependingarm 53 and a coiled spring 64 is attached to the arm and to a stud 65 ina manner to raise the cross rod 60 back to its functional position inthe runway after a can has been advanced thereover. The depending arm 63also is adapted to look within a notch 66 at one end of a latch lever 61that is pivotally mounted at its other end on the cross shaft 40. Thislatter lever is adapted to be held in raised position against a limitingstop by a coil spring 68 wound on shaft 40 and attached at its oppositeends to the arm and shaft as shown in Fig. 3.

When a registered can is released and has passed over the cross bar 30,it is then utilized as the means of effecting the release of the crossbar 60 for the advancement of another can to the registering position.The release action of the stop, or latch lever, 61 is effected by asolenoid 10, located beneath the free end of this lever. Energization ofthe solenoid 70 operates to draw the latch lever to releasing position.The solenoid is connected in a circuit with the source of electricity 41by means of wires H and 12, and there is a switch interposed in the wire12.; This switch comprises a pair of spring strip contacts 13 and 14with ends mounted on an insulating block 75, fixed in the framestructure. Normally, the free ends of the contacts are in spacedrelationship, thereby to retain the circuit open. However, as thereleased can advances along the runway beyond the stop lever 30, itpasses over a switch lever 18 which is pivotally supported by a crossrod 19 with one end disposed in a position to be depressed by thepassing can, and its other end in position to engage and move thecontact 13 against the contact 14, thereby to momentarily energize thesolenoid to efiect the release of the latch lever 61. The momentaryrelease of the latch lever permits the can then held by the stop bar 60to be advanced to the registering position,

but the next oncoming can will be checked by the cross rod 60 which isswung back into functional position by spring 64.

Each released, registered can passes across the glue applying rolls [4,and has spots of glue applied thereto from end to end. The location ofthe rollers for applying the glue is definite in. spacing from the labelstack so that, when the can reaches the label stack, the glue bearingportion of the can wall will engage with the forward-end of the label,which will adhere thereto and effect the wrapping of the label about thecan incident to its continued travel along the guideway, as will be wellunderstood by persons familiar with this art. Also, the position ofregistration of the can is such that the tearing strip tongue will bebrought accurately into registration with the label notch.

It is readily apparent that with this above described mechanism, eachcan received at the registering position and stopped by the cross bar 36upon the supporting rolls 34, will be rotated by reason of its contactwith belt 3. Any normal, or artificial, projection formed on the canbody, or on the double seam, may be utilized as a means of actuating theswitch lever to effect the release of the can. For instance, the tongueof the can might be employed in the same manner as the bulge formed inthe overlap in the seam as herein employed, and while we haveillustrated the stop mechanism as being applied to a can labelingmachine, it is to be understood that it might also be used in connectionwith any attaching devices or any other machine arranged for operationon a can and requiring that the can be received in the machine in adefinite relationship.

It is to be understood that various details of construction might bealtered without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore,it is not intended that the claims shall be restricted to details ofconstruction, but that they shall be given an interpretationcommensurate with the scope of the invention disclosed.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new therein, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine of the character described, a can guideway along whichcans are caused to advance, a releasable stop arranged to successivelystop the cans in their advancement, each for a period of axial rotation,latch means for supporting the stop in functional position, and arelease mechanism for the said latch means including a solenoid, anelectric circuit therefor, and a circuit control member disposed inposition to be actuated by a part of the rotating can ofiset from itsnormal curvature, to close the circuit to energize the solenoid andthereby efiect release of the latch, and a second stop member adapted towithhold oncoming cans spaced from the can being rotated, and a releasefor said second stop disposed in position to be actuated by a registeredcan in its travel along the guideway after release by the first stop.

2. In a machine of the character described, a can guideway along whichcans are caused to advance, a releasable stop arranged to successivelystop the cans in their advancement, each for a period of axial rotation,latch means for supporting the stop in functional position, and arelease mechanism for the said latch means including a solenoid, anelectric circuit therefor, and a circuit control member disposed inposition to be actuated by a part of the rotating can offset from itsnormal curvature, to close the circuit to energize the solenoid andthereby effect release of the latch, and a second stop member operatingin timing with the first mentioned stop to withhold oncoming cans inspaced relation to the can being rotated, and a release means for thesecond stop operating under control of cans released from the firststop.

3. In a machine of the character described, a can guideway, driven meanswhereby'cylindrical cans, due to rolling contact therewith, are causedto be advanced along the guideway, a spacing stop and a registering stopdisposed on the guideway whereby two adjacent cans are held in spacedrelation for a period of axial rotation and registration of the canfarthest advanced, a latch member for each of said stops, a means foreach latch adapted to be electrically energized to actuate its latchmember to released position, an electric circuit for each means, aswitch for the circuit corresponding to the registering stop, having aclosing member disposed for actuation by a part of the can that isstopped for axial rotation, and a switch for the circuit of the spacingstop having a closing member disposed to be actuated by a can releasedfrom the registering, stop.

4, In a machine of the character described, a can guideway, a canregistering stop associated with the guideway, means whereby cans arecaused to be advanced along the guideway and against said stop andaxially rotated while stopped thereby,.a releasable latch membernormally positioned for holding the registering stop in functionalposition, a release mechanism for said latch member including a controlelement disposed in position to be functionally actuated by a part ofthe stopped can offset from its normal curvature and which is caused toactuate said control element incident to the axial rotation. of thestopped can, another releasable stop member associated with the guidewayfor stopping a next succeeding can in the guideway during the period ofrotation of a can being registered, and a trip for controlling thereleasing of said second stop member positioned to be functionallyactuated by the advancement of a registered can along the guideway.

5. A device as in claim 4 wherein each of the stop members has anindividual releasing solenoid, an electric circuit therefor, and acontrol switch for the circuit and wherein the control switch fortheicircuit of. the first mentioned stop is actuated by the said controlelement, and the control switch of the second stop is actuated by saidtrip.

GEO. A. BARDET. GEO. V. BARDET.

